Washington, D.C. - I’m honored to join my friends in the Armenian-American community to commemorate this 91st anniversary of the start of the Armenian Genocide.

 

Genocide is a very powerful word, and should be reserved for only the most horrific examples of mass killing motivated by a desire to destroy an entire people.

 

Without a doubt, this term is appropriate to describe the unimaginable atrocities suffered by the Armenian people from 1915 to 1918.

 

During this period, more than one million Armenians died from starvation or disease on long marches, or were simply massacred by the Ottoman Turks.

 

Some still deny these events, or try to justify them as an extension of war.

 

But the debate on this historical issue has been settled.  The distinguished International Association of Genocide Scholars, among others, has concluded that it is undeniable.

 

Others, including some who accept the historical facts, say Congress should not pass a resolution recognizing the Armenian Genocide because it will irreparably damage our relationship with Turkey.

 

This is a phony argument. 

 

The European Parliament, the Council of Europe, and many European countries, including France, Germany and Italy have formally recognized the Armenian Genocide.

 

Yet this has not dissuaded Turkey from actively seeking to join the European Union.

At some point, every nation must come to terms with the wrongs committed by previous generations.

 

For Germany, the Holocaust.  For South Africa, Apartheid.  And for our country, slavery and the treatment of Native Americans.

 

In the same spirit, Turkey should allow – and indeed, encourage -- an open and honest discussion of the Armenian Genocide.

 

Adolf Hitler once remarked, “Who remembers the Armenians?”  The answer is, we do.

And we will continue to remember the victims of the Armenian Genocide, and other genocides, because, in the immortal words of Spanish philosopher George Santayana, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”